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1 day ago

Ukraine-Russia latest: Moscow responds to Trump ultimatum as 1,000 North Koreans killed in Kursk

Kremlin seeks to play down new Trump threat over war in Ukraine

Arpan Rai,Andy Gregory
Thursday 23 January 2025 23:58 GMT
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North Korean troops killed by Ukrainian drones in Russia’s Kursk region

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Russia has given its first response to Donald Trump’s ultimatum calling on Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks or see his Ukraine invasion end “the hard way”.

Writing on his Truth Social platform days after re-entering the White House, the US president threatened to intensify sanctions and tariffs against Russia unless Mr Putin agrees to end “this ridiculous war”.

In its initial response, the Kremlin insisted it saw nothing particularly new in Mr Trump’s threats, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisting that Moscow was ready for an equal and mutually respectful dialogue with the US.

On Thursday, Trump directly blamed Putin for the fact the war in Ukraine is still raging, saying Ukraine was ready to make a deal.

Asked whether he believed the war in Ukraine would end by the time the WEF returned to Davos in a year, Trump said: “Well you’re gonna have to ask Russia. Ukraine is ready to make a deal.”

It came as Western officials claimed that some 4,000 of the estimated 11,000 North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia had been killed or wounded in just three months of fighting.

1 day ago

Russia could sustain its war in Ukraine for at least another year, Belgian PM warns

Russia could keep its war effort against Ukraine going for at least one more year, Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo has warned.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr de Croo said was vital that a 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia included gas, energy and fertilisers.

“Our analysis is that the Russian economy can sustain the war for another year,” said Mr de Croo.

Andy Gregory23 January 2025 07:53
1 day ago

Nato chief reaffirms need to step up support for Ukraine

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would result in Vladimir Putin “high fiving” the leaders of North Korea and China.

“We really have to step up and not scale back our support for Ukraine,” Mr Rutte told an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“The frontline is moving in the wrong direction,” Mr Rutte said.

Andy Gregory23 January 2025 07:35
1 day ago

Russian president believes war goals in Ukraine have been met

Vladimir Putin believes key war goals in the “special military operation” in Ukraine have already been met, sources aware of the matter inside the Kremlin said.

These key war goals, according to Mr Putin, include the control of land that connects mainland Russia to Crimea, and weakening Ukraine’s military, the source said, reported Reuters.

Last year, Russia made its most significant territorial gains since the early days of the war and it now controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine.

Mr Putin has said that Russia can fight on as long as it takes and that Moscow will never bow before another power over key national interests.

Arpan Rai23 January 2025 07:24
1 day ago

Photos: War sends Kyiv residents in shelter as air raid warning sounded

Residents take shelter in a metro station after an air raid warning was issued in Kyiv
Residents take shelter in a metro station after an air raid warning was issued in Kyiv (Getty Images)
Youngsters work inside a metro station as they take shelter after an air raid warning in Kyiv
Youngsters work inside a metro station as they take shelter after an air raid warning in Kyiv (Getty Images)
A woman checks her phone as residents take shelter in a metro station in Kyiv
A woman checks her phone as residents take shelter in a metro station in Kyiv (Getty Images)
Senior citizens talk as they take shelter in a metro station after an air raid warning was issued in Kyiv amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Senior citizens talk as they take shelter in a metro station after an air raid warning was issued in Kyiv amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Arpan Rai23 January 2025 07:19
1 day ago

Putin takes swipe at Biden as Russian president congratulates Trump

Putin takes swipe at Biden as Russian president congratulates Trump
Andy Gregory23 January 2025 07:00
1 day ago

Putin worried by war taking a toll on Russia’s economy – report

Russian president Vladimir Putin is getting increasingly concerned about the state of Russia’s wartime economy, five sources aware of the situation told Reuters.

Domestic activity in Russia is feeling the pressure from the Kremlin’s war machinery. Labour shortages and high interest rates have been introduced to tackle inflation which has accelerated under record military spending.

That has contributed to the view within a section of the Russian elite that a negotiated settlement to the war is desirable, according to two of the sources familiar with thinking in the Kremlin.

The sources described Mr Putin’s concerns about the economy, and the influence of that on views about the war within the Kremlin, as reaching unprecedented levels.

“Russia, of course, is economically interested in negotiating a diplomatic end to the conflict,” Oleg Vyugin, former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, told Reuters. The Russian president has said he is ready to discuss ceasefire options with Mr Trump but that Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine must be accepted and that Ukraine must drop its bid to join the US-led Nato military alliance.

On the frontline, Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield gains to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks to end the three-year-old war.

Arpan Rai23 January 2025 06:59
1 day ago

One dead, 25 injured in Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia

At least one person was killed and 25 others wounded in a Russian drone and missile attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional officials said today.

More than 20,000 residents were also left without power and another 17,000 without heating as a result of the overnight attack, according to governor Ivan Fedorov, who said an energy facility had been destroyed.

Russia has carried out regular air strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities behind the frontline of its three-year-old invasion, targeting the country’s weakened energy grid in particular.

Arpan Rai23 January 2025 06:44
1 day ago

Full report: Royal Navy tracks Russian spy ship in English Channel

A Russian spy ship is being tracked by the Royal Navy after sailing through the English Channel, John Healey revealed on Wednesday, issuing a stark warning to Vladimir Putin that the government is watching Russian activity in UK waters.

“We see you”, the defence secretary warned, promising robust action to protect Britain.

Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Royal Navy tracks Russian spy ship in English Channel as Putin warned: ‘We see you’

Addressing the House of Commons, defence secretary said the spy ship is currently in the North Sea having passed through British waters

Andy Gregory23 January 2025 06:30
1 day ago

UK government gives landmine clearance charity £7m boost

A landmine clearance charity will be given £7m to continue its “life-saving” work in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

The UK Government cash for the Hazardous Area Life-support Organisation (Halo) Trust will enable the charity to make land safe for agriculture in Ukraine, and to restore basic services affected by the threat of explosives in Afghanistan.

Development minister Anneliese Dodds also announced an additional £250,000 for one Halo project, which aims to dispose of 165 tons of unusable, unsafe ammunition and explosives from Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, Africa.

Andy Gregory23 January 2025 06:00
1 day ago

Trump urges Putin to ‘make a deal’ to end Ukraine war – or face tariffs and sanctions

President Donald Trump has called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the nearly three-year-old war Russia launched against Ukraine, and is threatening to impose further sanctions on Moscow if the Russian leader does not acquiesce.

In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and expressed “love” for the Russian people while boasting of his “very good relationship” with Putin – who in 2016 ordered what the Department of Justice called a “sweeping and systematic” effort to interfere in the presidential election on Trump’s behalf.

Trump urges Putin to ‘make a deal’ to end Ukraine war — or face tariffs and sanctions

Trump is threatening unspecified sanctions on Moscow if Russian president Vladimir Putin doesn’t come to the negotiating table ‘soon’

Arpan Rai23 January 2025 05:00

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